Monthly video game sales rebound thanks to Grand Theft Auto V

[Shawn Knight]

Video game sales shot up substantially in the month of September thanks to the overwhelming popularity of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V. Total sales which include game discs, hardware and accessories hit $1.08 billion in the US last month. During the same time last year, Americans spent just $848 million on gaming – 27 percent less than this year according to research firm NPD.

Total game software spending was up 52 percent year over year to $754.3 which is where GTA V helped. NPD analyst Liam Callahan said the launch of GTA V was a much needed shot in the arm for the industry. Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, Diablo III and FIFA 14 rounded out the top five games for the month, in that order.

Hardware spending, on the other hand, dropped 13 percent to $183.2 million. The PlayStation 3 was able to snap the Xbox 360’s 32-month bestselling streak thanks to GTA V which was paired with the PS3 as a packaged bundle. The Nintendo 3DS was the top-selling device for the fifth month in a row and Wii U sales were up 20 percent following a price cut which put the Deluxe version at $299.

With new consoles from Sony and Microsoft hitting store shelves next month, I suspect both of these figures will increase over the holiday season. This is also likely the reason why hardware sales in general have been down recently – why buy a dated console when the next-gens are just around the corner?

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https://www.techspot.com/news/54390-monthly-video-game-sales-rebound-thanks-to-grand-theft-auto-v.html

 

[Adhmuz]

"The PlayStation 3 was able to snap the Xbox 360?s 32-month bestselling streak" it did this a while back, the PS3 has been selling better than the Xbox for years now. But I guess I'll have to assume your looking at US sales charts and not the global market. In 2013 alone the PS3 has the Xbox beat nearly 2 to 1, 6.2 million units to 3.7 million for the Xbox, even the numbers for 2012 has the PS3 edge out the 360 by almost 2 million units, and 2011... So this "32-month bestselling streak" is merely fictional.

Anyone who was desperate enough to buy GTA5 as a bundle got ripped off. Of course sales will be down the month before new hardware hits the shelves, how is this not obvious. Heck if it wasn't for the corporate greed of Rockstar, who will now make all kinds of money all over again when they release GTA5 on PS4 and Xbox One, the same months figures would have been a whole lot worse. And a third time when they release GTA5 on PC at the end of Q1 2014. I'll tell you someone is getting rich over there. This kind of abuse is why the industry suffers, but its easier to blame piracy.

 

[wastedkill]

I got gta v for ps3 but would have got it on pc instead if it was available at least then the graphics wouldn't have been downgraded big time

 

[davislane1]

Anyone who was desperate enough to buy GTA5 as a bundle got ripped off. Of course sales will be down the month before new hardware hits the shelves, how is this not obvious. Heck if it wasn't for the corporate greed of Rockstar, who will now make all kinds of money all over again when they release GTA5 on PS4 and Xbox One, the same months figures would have been a whole lot worse. And a third time when they release GTA5 on PC at the end of Q1 2014. I'll tell you someone is getting rich over there. This kind of abuse is why the industry suffers, but its easier to blame piracy.

Care to explain how selling your product on multiple platforms constitutes corporate greed? Other than the anti-success angle, I'm baffled by your logic. Though, I do agree that spending money on a GTAV bundle just before the PS4 and XBOne launches -- which will surely have GTAV bundles themselves -- is an equally baffling proposition.

 

[Mister_K]

Anyone who was desperate enough to buy GTA5 as a bundle got ripped off. Of course sales will be down the month before new hardware hits the shelves, how is this not obvious. Heck if it wasn't for the corporate greed of Rockstar, who will now make all kinds of money all over again when they release GTA5 on PS4 and Xbox One, the same months figures would have been a whole lot worse. And a third time when they release GTA5 on PC at the end of Q1 2014. I'll tell you someone is getting rich over there. This kind of abuse is why the industry suffers, but its easier to blame piracy.

Care to explain how selling your product on multiple platforms constitutes corporate greed? Other than the anti-success angle, I'm baffled by your logic. Though, I do agree that spending money on a GTAV bundle just before the PS4 and XBOne launches -- which will surely have GTAV bundles themselves -- is an equally baffling proposition.

Because those who can't wait have already bought it and MIGHT buy it again for the new gen or later down the line on the PC. However, I doubt they will make much more because of that sole reason. Most have played it by the time you can buy 'V' for new gen/pc and got either bored of it or simply don't see the reason to waste money on the game again.

It's a shame they have not released it on the PC already, and I call "they need time to optimize" bunch of bs considering many other devs are more then capable of releasing for all platforms and optimized as well.

I was on the verge of buying a 2nd hand PS3/Xbox and GTA V, however il just wait instead of shelling out £100 to £200 to play GTA 5 (xbox, game, and then the pc game).

 

[Guest]

I would like to thanks the console gta 5 players for beta testing the game.

 

[killeriii]

I got gta v for ps3 but would have got it on pc instead if it was available at least then the graphics wouldn't have been downgraded big time

Same here, couldn't wait for pc version.

 

[davislane1]

I would like to thanks the console gta 5 players for beta testing the game.

You're welcome. Now about my commission...

 

[Guest]

Rockstar is the king of double (triple) dipping. Release their game on aging consoles in advanced. Everyone with a console buys it. Then re-release on new consoles with exclusive features like better graphics and more online players (etc), many people buy a second copy. After that, release on PC for more possible rebuys. Evil, but smart.

I actually bought the PS3 + GTA 5 bundle, played for two weeks and returned it. I will buy my permanent copy on PC once it is finally released.